New members of the Bulgaria forum, introduce yourself here — 2nd quarter of 2015

Hi! We ( my husband, son and I) moved out to Bulgaria in September last year. We had a nightmare journey over and then nothing but troubles and money spending for months! Despite that and the amount of rain we've had since we got here- on times we were sure we were still in Wales- we love living here and are still determined to give it our best shot! We haven't had time to get to know anyone since getting here and even though we are trying hard to  learn bulgarian it would be nice to communicate in English to other people now and again!

Hi..Just arrived in Vinograd last week to live,,were do you live??,,I to trying to settle here,few probs with services ie paid for Vivacom package,TV ok but probs with mobile and internet? phoned there service dept,,no joy yet,,Trying to get upvc windows at mo,,Municipal bin,,But have a good local builder who is going to work on my place,,had to borrow friends dongle for internet at mo..have to give settling in time,,hey!!,,oh!,,ive come here to retire peacefully,hopefully from Poole Dorset,,Regards Eddie

Hi Eddie
We are in General Toshevo, Yambol which is miles away from you in the south east of Bulgaria! We have been here 7 months and we are still settling in, we had loads and loads of problems in the first few months, things are starting to settle a little now though. We are really looking forward to the nice weather because we haven't seen too much of it up until now. Perhaps we should have waited and come over at this time of year rather than go through the winter first off but we are still here so bring on the summer! We find it very peaceful and laid back here, I think I would be traumatised by how fast everything is in the UK now! You say you phoned about your internet problems, do you speak Bulgarian then? We are learning but it is not easy so far!
Nichola

Dobra utro Nicola,, no i don,t speak Bulgarian,trying to pick up a few phrases,basic stuff,,weather forcast is looking good,,yippeeee Hey! i drove over myself in a 4x4 loaded up with basic stuff,,never want to do trip again,ist nite from Calais i tried to sleep in car,,no chance,,2nd nite i stopped at Motel in Austria thank god,,what a beutifull country Austria,,then onwards i stayed at Motel in Hungary,then Romania before entering Bulgaria at Ruse,,just glad got here safely,,it is so cheap here living compared to UK,,don,t want to go back,tho i do miss my 2 daughters,who are coming out to visit summer,,What heating system have you got?,,costs?,,any info on work done and costs appreciated i am getting quotes on UPVC windows &doors for security at moment,,got to go and measure up & trip to Vivacom to get my mobile phone unblocked,,,hey i am glad i bought my wellies haha,,have a good day,,eddie

@ > eddieg
@ > cariadnic

Please note that this thread is for the presentation of new members, therefore I would kindly suggest you to open a new thread in the Bugaria forum if you have other questions to discuss about.

Thank you,
Marjorie

Hi  Just wanted to say welcome to Bulgaria I am sure once the sun comes out you will  soon love it. Me and my husband and son bought a house close to Borovets in a beautiful village called Madjare. The intention being for my son to live there but things didn't work out and our son returned home to the north east of England and we now use it as a holiday home but are there every 6 or so weeks for a few weeks of at a time. We have thought of living there permanently but baby sit our grand daughter at the moment but this won't be forever. Sorry to hear you didn't have a good start we also learnt the hard way to start with so although we live some distance from you we would gladly give advice on anything we are able to. We have been here 10 years so have picked up a bit of knowledge, saying that our Bulgarian is very limited still. We find it a peaceful friendly place to be, with cheap food and lovely fresh fruit and veg in the summer..
We will be out again for may having just come back a couple of weeks ago,hopefully the snow will be gone by then.
Anyway I hope things our looking up
Best wishes Syl

Hi! I and my husband live in Varna. We will be glad a new friends, with whom we can talk English!

Nice and sunny day to everyone!

Hello everyone, I am Shady I just came to living on Bulgaria last year.To be wones very interesting country. So I am on Varna I would like to met a people which is from arabic country here,or from Egypt to have good communication
Thanks to all

Hi I am Dave...I am English but have lived in Varna for many years now. I used to work in a big estate agency until the UK buyers market went into freefall in 2006-7. I have a Bulgarian girlfriend & two children.....Love Bulgaria of course but hate the bureaocracy, the complacency & the hidden agendas that you only get to know after a few years here...Looking forward to VARNA SUMMER 2015...I am always Interested in meeting new people here.

Hello from Terry the new kid.

I've just returned from a wander round Bulgaria and I think I've decided that I would probably be very happy retiring to Veliko Tornova.

The sorts of things that I am wondering about are:

a) The most suitable villages to purchase a house in. Elena looks good from the pictures on the internet.
b) Utility bills and local property taxes.
c) The cost of local tradesmen in comparison to those in Britain.
d) The easiest way to ship some of my belongings from my current home in Britain.
e) Security of any house I buy if I am not able to live in it immediately.
f) Health care and insurance.

Any tips or advice you can provide on any aspect of life in Bulgaria, and particularly Veliko Tarnovo, would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in anticipation of some interesting replies.

Terry

Hello everyone,

Excited to be here. Considering moving from UK to sofia soon. Will be earning 40000 lev. Would be moving with my kids -13yr and a 21 old.

How do I find a good school for the 13yr old.
And  what standard of living would 40000 lev get us in Bulgaria?

Thanks for your help.

Welcome, you will be ok with 40K a year, obviously depending on your expectations but that's generally a good number, you will be able to afford most things and get a nice place to live.

P.S. Also it will make a difference as to where you are moving to, I'm assuming Sofia, here prices and rent tend to be almost twice as other cities.

good choice of a chool in your case means an international school, where everything is taught in English,

here's one option:

http://www.mfa.bg/en/pages/109/index.html

you can consider also the French school in Sofia and I think there's a german one too but not sure.

Some Bulgarian schools are also a very good option, like the Sofia Math School, the First Language School, but hte level of subjects like math and others might be too high for your son. Besides, Bulgarian language will take time to learn. Approximate cost of a private school is 7000 BGN per year. State schools are free.

Hi to everyone!

Just moved to Sofia after 2 years in Australia!

I hope we can organize some nights OK for have fun and talk about....everything actually! Have a nice day! 

Hi, we live in a very small village about 10 mins from karnobat. We have lived here for 18 months. We are struggling with the language. We are a mature couple if you want to keep in touch

Hello Jenfy,

If I can find a way to contact you by pm, I can send you a link to an English-speaking builder who may be close to your area in Karnobat.

Perhaps one of the mods can assist 

VillageGirl

VillageGirl I think it's something in your setting that you clicked on because I can send a message to Jenfy but not to you? Try and go through your privacy settings.

Hi VillageGirl,

Just click on the profile of Jenfy : https://www.expat.com/forum/profile.php … mp;lang=en
At the right of the screen, you will see a green button " send a message", just click on it and send your message.

In case that you really can't do it, just contact us by clicking here : https://www.expat.com/en/contact.html , we will help you.

---------------

Hi everybody,

Please make sure that we are only introducing ourselves on this thread.
If you have some questions to ask or wish to exchange information on an another subject, please create a new thread on the Bulgaria forum.

Thank you

Priscilla 

Hello!
I am Gert from Denmark introducing myself here.
I am retired and 59 yo. Now living a village just outside Pavlikeni, Region VT.
Previous I lived in flats VT and Varna.
Now I try *the real life* among hens and roosters in a rural property.

Welcome to the forum
Life in the country side is an adventure, enjoy it! We love it

Hello Bulgaria, my name is Mike.

After The New Year I drove down from Vienna with 400Kg of worldly goods stashed about my car, and living  in fear of being asked to unload the vehicle for inspection at the check points I passed through.

However everything went as smooth as silk at all Check Points, and I entered Bulgaria without so much as stepping out of the car for examination.

30 hours after leaving Vienna I arrived in Varna and stayed in a hotel for a few nights.

I rented a place at first on short term lease while getting to know the city. There were a few features of the housing system which confused me, such as the definitions of a residence, and work-shop.

The apartment may look fantastic, but if it’s not classed as a residency, then you won’t get your permit. But help was always close by in the form of estate agents and new found friends.

The old adage of “which came first!! The chicken or the egg” came to mind in the form of do I buy a place, and hope for residency, or commit to long term renting and watch my savings going down for a year. So I bought an apartment.

Buying an apartment took about 2/3 weeks. I then applied for my residency permit.

I applied for residency on the Thursday, and was told to collect my permit after the weekend on Monday. Absolutely seamless.

Bulgaria is completely different to The UK, which is to be expected. And you do need help having the Bulgarian systems explained to you.

So far I’m really happy here and enjoying everything. However I could not have done this without a great deal of help from the Bulgarian people, and the Bulgarian institutions around me.

I'm amazed how economical electric is in Bulgaria. My first rented apartment was on the ground floor, and very cold. I had a 2Kw heater running full time, and this cost about 9 pounds for February!!

Good luck to anyone making the journey here. Going by my experiences it's worth it...

Best wishes... Mike

That's a good post mate, I wish you well in your new life.
It is good to hear how people were on hand and helped you through the legal network, what I noticed is that people actually take pride when a newbie from another country chooses to live among'st them.
Now enabling you to live a more economical and healthy lifestyle hopefully, best wishes for the future.
Steve.

Hi all, I'm Ben from the army town of Aldershot in the UK. I, for a long time have sought a completely new life away from the UK and it's politics, modern culture, and the society that has changed so much since I grew up. I started looking around on the net for opportunities to completely "reset" my life and really start again. I looked at a few "alternative living" websites but decided I didn't want to be that close to nature! Then one day about six months ago, a site appeared selling property in Bulgaria for apparently "silly" money. I didn't believe it at first so I did my own research and discovered many appealing things about Bulgaria, the people, culture, history, the list goes on and it ticks all the boxes. So its decided...I will be making the move in a few months, I thought I would join here to see other peoples insights, views and opinions. And also to see if people can help me if I get stuck or confused by things! thank you all, see you soon

Hi Ben,
I am not sure about the lifestyle you are looking for but take your time to look around, Some villages are very remote and very cheap. Do you want to be in an expat community or live among the locals? Do you intend being self sufficient or are you looking for a job? We live in a village in the mountains which has a couple of shops and a bar, we are only 15 mins from the town and we don't have any Brit neighbours, it very quiet with no light or traffic pollution and we love it ,however, you may prefer the city with much more going on and places to go. We have gained a lot of valuable information over the 10 years since we had our house built so would be happy to help in anyway we can, just ask. The people on the forum seem a friendly lot so I am sure you will get any questions answered.

Best of luck
Sylvia

Hi,

My name is Tom. I’m a 24-year-old Polish graduate who is an Erasmus+ intern in Varna at the present (until Oct 2015).
I like the city, but I don’t have many friends in here. I have a lot of hobbies, f.ex. translation, technology, sport and music. Maybe I would begin my PhD and stay here slightly longer.
If you’d like to know me and spend some free time together, don't hesitate and send me a private message

Bulgaria is not the place to visit or stay. The people will rip you off at any chance they dont like Americans and will do what ever it takes to get you. They speak behind your back and say the most horrible things when you are in lline to get food or what ever. I have been here on and off for more than 10 years and it is getting worse, the country side is nice but America has beautiful also, I am hoping to get out of here, Turkey is much better and the people are much nicer. Be careful and watch your backside at all times.

Sorry you're not happy here. I think Bulgaria is not for you.

treichart, I've been here for ca. 10 days and this is very sad what you posted

This is your opinion and you have your right to air it here on the forum. I however have not witnessed this personally myself, although I have recently suffered a break in at my house which does tarnish my own opinion slightly too.
Obviously reading between the lines from your post are not really a fan of Bulgaria, it's people, and the culture, you have been back and to 10 years though??
There is good and bad in all countries, all cultures, all creeds, people that want to talk behind your back will do so, people who want to steal will do so, you can no doubt be ripped off by any nationality if you are unaware, naive, or even too trusting?
You have experienced Bulgaria now and OK it's not to your own personal taste, so you can take what you have learnt from this experience and avoid the pitfalls on your next venture?
I wish you well.
Steve.

Other people have said Sofia people are a bit cold too. However the people where I’m living couldn’t be nicer if they tried. Hospitable and courteous without being pushy.

Still. We’re all different with different expectations I guess.

Sorry you don’t  like it here…

Mike

I had the opposite experience from you... living for a year in Istanbul I felt like nothing more than a cash cow/ potential opportunity for sex for men. There, I felt people were nice to my face and then talked about me behind my back.

In Bulgaria I have not experienced that. I think it has to do with the size of the city (Istanbul is huge, in Bulgaria I live in a small town) as well as how much of the language you know and what kind of contacts you have.

Americans are disliked by many groups in many countries around the globe. Ultranationalists in Bulgaria hate Americans, but so do ultranationalists in Turkey. Many people are offended by the colonialism of American culture. But there are also people who are open minded and willing to give you a chance in both places.

I wish you luck in Turkey.

I want to remind everyone that this discussion is for new members of the forum to introduce themseves.

Hello People!

Im Carolina, Im looking forward to moving to Sofia soon. I'm a bit scared i must admit. I am not sure what is the normal income and if i will be able to have normal living standards over there.

Anyways, still very excited and looking forward to meeting you!

Have a Great week!

Hello Carolina, welcome to the forum.
You are curious of the wage structure and living comforts in Bulgaria compared to the Netherlands?
What do you work as in your own profession?
They maybe a significant difference between both countries, that is not to say you can not make a living wage or normal living standard, having worked with alongside a dutch colleague I can honestly say he was the most hard working man I've ever met although this often made him a miserable son of a bi*ch too!  (But I did respect his work ethic!!)
The cost of living will differ in both countries therefore a living standard will be achievable, the culture is different, but if you are prepared to change your outlook then you will be fine, and yes it is scary but yes very exciting!
Good luck in your venture.
Steve.

Hallo, Thanks for the nice message. My partner is a Bulgarian.
We live now in The Netherlands we would like to move to Bulgaria in the furture.
Kind regards,
Marcel

Hi Terry, Welcome. We are about 50km from VT on the Sofia side. We came over here and bought a house on the Black Sea in 2003. Two years ago we moved to our current village. Our nearest large town is Sevlievo which is very nice. Best advice I can give you on location is, don't buy in a Gypsy village, don't buy in a village where a lot of the houses have bars on the windows. Go to the village you like at different times of the day to see what its like. Check out the availability of internet for your chosen village before you buy. Any questions we can help with don't hesitate to ask.

Hello Gert, Welcome. We are Scottish and we live not too far from you, near Sevlievo. Hope you enjoy the country life, we do, having moved from the Black Sea 2 years ago.

Hi, I'm from Russia, I live in Bulgaria in Sofia.

Johnny Clark wrote:

Hello Gert, Welcome. We are Scottish and we live not too far from you, near Sevlievo. Hope you enjoy the country life, we do, having moved from the Black Sea 2 years ago.

Hello Johnny and Family.
I enjoy the country life in over all, thanks!
Yes! I know Sevlievo app 1/2 hour drive south of here.
Good to hear you enjoy the country life as well.